Sounding elastic toy



H. W. MU NRO SOUNDING ELASTIC TOY Filed Abril 10 1923 lNVlENTOR flea mid 24/202770 mil ATTORNEY Patented ov. l, 1924.

IEIAROLD W. MUNRO, 0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SOUNDING ELASTIC TOY.

Application filed April 10', 1923. Serial No. 631,121.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD W. Munro, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Sounding Elastic Toys, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sounding toys.

One object of my invention is to provide a sounding toy consisting of a hollow elastic body of substantially spherical shape, provided with a voice or musical device in a perforation'in the wall thereof, weighted by the voice device and by thickened portions of the wall thereof to so situate the center of gravity thereof that the toy may be rocked, but not readily rolled and lost. The great diificulty with toy balls of this general type is that a dog or child will roll them under furniture, etc., where they be come lost, whereas my toy is so constructed that it will not roll far, but will readily rock, affording thereby greater amusement for the pet or child.

As my toy comprises a hollow elastic body of substantially spherical shape, provided with a voice or musical device in a perfora tion in the wall thereof, it is obvious that the elastic wall thereof, which is preferably moulded from rubber, may not only be readily compressed and will freely expand to force air in and out through the voice device to make it function, but also may be readily moulded to simulate a cats head or other ornamented object. Dogs and cats antipathy for each other, as well as childrens delight in animal pets and ornamented figures are matters of common knowledge. A further object of my invention is to provide a sounding toy of general spherical shape made out of an elastic material, the outer wall of which is so moulded as to simulate a cats head or other ornamented object,

thereby increasing the sentimental value of the toy to its owner.

A further object of my invention is to provide external protuberances on the moulded exterior wall of the toy which form part of the ornamental features, permit the toy to be easily seized and shaken by a dog, cat or child, protect the voice device from injury, assist in preventing the toy from rolling excessively, and assist in situating the center of gravity so as to fa cilitate rocking. it

These and such other objects of my invention as may hereinafter appear will be best understood from a description of one embodiment thereof, such as is shown in the accompanying drawings:

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of my invention.

Fig. Qis a perspective view of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional View of the voice device;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the reed portion.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the reed portion.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the voice device.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout, 1 represents generally the elastic body of my device which is of substantially spherical shape. A ball may be employed, but the preferred embodiment of my device is preferably slightly conical or egg-shaped to provide a well rounded base 2 and a conical upper end 3 to increase the weight of the upper portion to aid the rocking features thereof. The body need not be a ball, and may consist of other hollow shapes, so long as they are of a general spherical nature. As stated, my toy is constructed out of an elastic material, preferably rubber, although 4 other elastic materials may be employed, and must be provided with a hollow central portion 4, so as to enablelthe toy to be compressed and expand to force air in' and out of the voice device 5 to make it properly function. As the body 1 of my device is constructed out of an elastic material such as rubber, the wall thereof may be readily moulded to carry out the features of my invention. The interior wall 8 may be thickened and the exterior 9 moulded and provided with the externalprotuberances 10, so that when the voice device 5 is inserted, the center of gravity thereof will be so situated as to permit the toy to rock, but not to roll excessively. As stated, the exterior wall 9 may be so moulded and the external protuberances 10 so placed as to simulate a cats head or other object to the enjoyment of the owner thereof. In the embodiment shown, the interior wall 8 is thickened at 12 at the base 2 to lower the center of gravity, so that the body 1 will always tend to stand on its base 2. The exterior wall 9 is so moulded as to represent a cats head, and is provided with the external protuberances 10, which perform the functions to be described, and represent the protruding ears, eyes, nose, mouth, etc., of the cat, making the toy much more realistic and pleasure giving. In the embodiment shown, the protuberances 1O which represent the cats ears are placed so as to protect the voice device 5 from injury. The protuberances not only form part of the ornamental, features, but also permit the toy to be more readily seized or shaken by a dog, cat or child. As they protrude beyond the exterior wall 9 they assist in preventing excessive rolling of the toy. It is also obvious that both the voice device 5 and protuberances 10 give added weight to the upper part of the toy, to assist the rocking qualities thereof.

A perforation is made in the wall of the body portion 1, in the embodiment shown between the ears 10 In the perforation 15 any convenient type of sounding or voice device may be inserted. I employ the term voice device to include any type of device which when air is forced in or out thereof will emit a sound or noise, musical or other- Wise. I employ the term sounding toy to include any type of a sound or noise making toy. A Voice device may be employed which will emit a sound both on the intake and outtake of air. In the embodiment shown I employ a metallic tubulure 16, provided with the flanges 17 for securing the voice device 5 to the sides of the perforation 15 in the wall of the toy. Said tubulure 16 contains a perforation 18 just large enough for the insertion of the reed plate 20 and reed 21 therein, so as to permit all the incoming and out going air to pass through the chamber 22 formed between the reed plate 20 and reed 21. The reed plate 20 is preferably stamped so as'to form the semi-circular depression 23 lengthwise thereof. The reed 21 is bound to the reed plate 20 by the wire 24 on the thus raised side portions 25 of said reed plate. In this manner is the longitudinal chamber 22 formed therebetween. The reed 21 and reed plate 20 are inserted in the perforation 18. When air is forced out of the body 1 by the contraction of the elastic wall thereof on pressure from the pet or child, it is obvious that the reed 21 will vibrate as shown in Fig. 5, so as to emit a sound. When ressure is released from the elastic wall of t 1e body 1,

it is obvious that it will freely expand to its former substantially spherical shape.

It is understood that my invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure as Letters Patent is:

1. A sounding toy con'iprising a hollow elastic body of substantially spherical shape provided with a voice device inserted in a perforation in the wall thereof, the wall thereof being moulded externally and provided with external protuberances to simulate an ornamented object, the location and weight of the voice device and the external protuberances being such that said toy may be rocked but not readily rolled and lost.

2. A sounding toy, comprising a hollow elastic body of substantially spherical shape, provided with a voice device inserted in a perforation in the wall thereof, the wall thereof being moulded externally and provided with external protuberances to simulate an ornamented object, the location and weight of the voice device, thickened portions of said .wall and the external protuberances being such that said toy may be rocked but not readily rolled and lost.

3. A sounding toy, comprising a hollow elastic body of substantially spherical shape, provided with a voice device inserted in a perforation in the wall thereof, the wall thereof being moulded externally and provided with external protuberances to simulate an ornamented object, the location and weight of the voice device, thickened portions of said wall and the external protuberances being such that said toy may be rocked but not readily rolled and lost, certain of said external protuberances being so placed as to protect the voice device from injury.

4. A sounding toy comprising, a hollow elastic body of substantially spherical shape provided with a voice device lnserted in a perforation in the wall thereof, the wall thereof being moulded externally and provided with external protuberances to simulate an ornamented object, certain of said protuberancesbeing so placed as to protect the voice device from injury.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HAROLD W. MUNRO. 

